SYLLABUS AND COURSE OUTLINE`

FOR

THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS MEDIA

ADV 348S, PR 348S, J 348G

Fall, 2017

Thursdays, 4:00p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Location: CLA 0.128

Instructor: Michael J. Cramer, J.D.

Telephone: (512) 471 2430 Fax: (512) 471 1927 Cell phone: (817) 798-2301 E-Mail: [email protected]

Office Hours and location: Before or after class by appointment; other times by appointment as our mutual schedules allow; my office is located on the third floor of Belo (Room 3.388) for drop in.

Special Recurring Guest Lecturers\Collaborators this semester:

Bryan Perez, Teaching Fellow, Program in Sports and Media, BA UT; JD\MBA, Stanford; President and CEO of Digital, Ticket and Media for AEG, Los Angeles, Ca Mark Pannes, Teaching Fellow, Texas Program in Sports and Media, BA, UT; JD, Fordham

College of Communication University of Texas at Austin

Title: The Business of Sports Media Course number: ADV 348S; J 348G; PR 348S

Description: This course will examine the many facets of the business of sports related media including over the air television, cable, satellite TV, print, radio, social media and internet based, the business models that each of these types of media use, the challenges to such models and the changes that are likely in the future and the impact of such media on sports presentation and development, professional franchises, colleges and conferences and the consumer. The course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of how the business of sports media operates both as a business generating revenue and content and as a provider and disseminator of information and critique. The course will be primarily lecture and discussion of key topics and issues involved with the business of sports media with various guest speakers from sports\media entities that have an impact in this area.

Objectives: The student who successfully completes this course will ideally be able to:

1. Understand the reasons for the growth of sports as key part of American society and culture. 2. Apply basic terminology and fundamental theories/principles of the sociology of sport, including the internal (individual) and external (environmental) factors that influence people’s behaviors and decision making. 3. Understand how sports and the media can shape political discussion and political behavior • Identify and understand the key role that sports and the media has played in American society. • Develop your own theories on the use of sports and the media as a means for future social change and the implications of such power and ability by these institutions.

COURSE OUTLINE

Approach:

This course will be comprised of fifteen (15) sessions plus exam week with each individual session being approximately three hours (3.0) in length. Due to the length of each class, the course will be designed to include a mixture of lecture by the principal instructor and guests, group discussion, periodic quizzes and other in-class challenges.

Class Preparation:

1. It is expected that each student will be prepared to participate in lively, intelligent and professional discussion. This includes listening respectfully to all. 2. Reading assignments and homework must be done prior to attending class so that everyone will benefit from an in-depth discussion of issues. 3. All written assignments are to be typed. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation must be of professional or business standard. You must use a recognized citation standard when referencing the works of others in your written submissions. 4. All cell phones and pagers will be turned off prior to class. Laptops are permitted but such privileges may be rescinded in the discretion of the instructor if laptops are used for other than class use.

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend every class which is critical to the success of the course. As noted below, a large part of your grade will come from in class activities. Students are to be prepared to start the class session on time. If for some reason you are unable to attend class, the student is expected to inform the instructor via email prior to class. Being absent or late for class may result in a reduction of your grade for the course. If a student misses a class for any reason, it is the responsibility of the student to be informed of the materials covered during the class. Each student is encouraged to find a “class buddy” who can share information, handouts, and assignments.

Academic Integrity and Standards:

Students are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity in all course activities and assignments. It is expected that there shall be no deception regarding the representation made by the student of his/her preparation, participation, or performance.

Plagiarism is a form of fraud. Proper acknowledgement makes the difference. Plagiarism is presenting another person’s work as though it is one’s own. Plagiarism is the presentation of a sequence of words, from another writer, quoted without quotation marks and presented as one’s own work. It is crucial that acknowledgement of sources be accurate and complete. This includes citations of all sources on written assignments. The instructor uses various tools to determine if plagiarism has occurred.

The remainder of the course requirements and policies relating to cheating and plagiarism are subject to the standard policies and procedures for all UT-Austin students as established by UT- Austin .

University of Texas Honor Code The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.

Documented Disability Statement The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or 232-2937 (video phone). Also, see http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/

Use of Canvas in Class

In this class I use Canvas—a Web-based course management system with password-protected access at http://courses.utexas.edu —to distribute course materials, to communicate and collaborate online, to post grades, to submit assignments, and to give you online quizzes and surveys. You can find support in using Canvas at the ITS Help Desk at 475-9400, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., so plan accordingly.

Feedback Statement (to encourage students to respond to your requests for their feedback) and University Course Evaluations During this course, I will be asking you to give me feedback on your learning in informal as well as formal ways, including through anonymous surveys about how my teaching strategies are helping or hindering your learning. It’s very important for me to know your reaction to what we’re doing in class, so I encourage you to respond to these surveys (including completing university course evaluations), ensuring that together we can create an environment effective for teaching and learning.

Use of E-Mail for Official Correspondence to Students Email is recognized as an official mode of university correspondence; therefore, you are responsible for reading your email for university and course-related information and announcements. You are responsible to keep the university informed about changes to your e- mail address. You should check your e-mail regularly and frequently—I recommend daily, but at minimum twice a week—to stay current with university-related communications, some of which may be time-critical. You can find UT Austin’s policies and instructions for updating your e- mail address at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.php.

Religious Holy Days By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day or for travel related thereto, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence. Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL) If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior. This service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232-5050 or visit http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal.

Emergency Evacuation Policy Occupants of buildings on the UT Austin campus are required to evacuate and assemble outside when a fire alarm is activated or an announcement is made. Please be aware of the following policies regarding evacuation: Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of the classroom and the building. Remember that the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when you entered the building. If you require assistance to evacuate, inform me in writing during the first week of class. In the event of an evacuation, follow my instructions or those of class instructors. Do not re-enter a building unless you’re given instructions by the Austin Fire Department, the UT Austin Police Department, or the Fire Prevention Services office

Q drop Policy The State of Texas has enacted a law that limits the number of course drops for academic reasons to six (6). As stated in Senate Bill 1231: “Beginning with the fall 2007 academic term, an institution of higher education may not permit an undergraduate student a total of more than six dropped courses, including any course a transfer student has dropped at another institution of higher education, unless the student shows good cause for dropping more than that number.” You can find advice, models, templates, and other resources for designing your course syllabus on the DIIA website at http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/

NOTE: Moody College Writing Support Program The Moody College Writing Support Program, located in BMC 3.322, https://moody.utexas.edu/students/moodywriting offers one-on-one assistance without charge to students seeking to improve their professional writing in all fields of communication. We have specialists in Journalism, RTF, CSD, CMS, and PR and Advertising. In addition, we offer workshops to strengthen core writing skills in each field and to inspire students to strive for excellence. Students may book half-hour appointments on our website or drop in for assistance during all stages of the writing process.

Grading and Evaluation: Grading is cumulative throughout the semester. Every point counts toward the final grade. Individual assessment will be based on attainment of up to 100 points with the number of points assigned to each means of grading and method of evaluation as listed below. These points may be modified slightly over the course of the semester. For example, a point may be added to the Midterm and a point subtracted from Quizzes. Point totals are as follows:

Written Assignments 12% (12points) In Class Quizzes 24% (24 points) Midterm Exam 29% (29 points) Final Exam 20% (20 points) Final Take Home question 15% (15 points)

Periodic Written Assignments are due as assigned. The specifics of each assignment will be discussed in class and\or on Canvas but will generally be focused on current issues\news involving sports media as presented in the current issue of the Sports Business Journal. Each assignment may require the student to consider outside sources to perform an analysis of the question presented. An analysis is not a reiteration of the remarks by the author. An analysis is a concise, cogent reflection clearly articulated and supported with examples, and connected to course-related theories. These analyses are to be one to two pages in length, 600 words, maximum, appropriately referenced. Each writing submitted for credit in this class will be judged not only on reasoning and content but on the quality of the writing style and grammar as well. Late assignments may be turned in after discussion with and receipt of the approval of the instructor or the Teaching Assistant but the maximum grade that may be received for a late assignment is one half the credits. All such writings shall be submitted through Canvas. Grades will generally be posted to Canvas within two weeks of assignment submission by students.

In Class Quizzes. We will have periodic (4-6) Quizzes in Class dealing with assigned readings and SBJ weekly readings. Notice will not normally be given of such quizzes. Additional details to be discussed in class.

The Final Take Home Question. Students will be asked to draw upon the various course readings, SBJ articles and other material used or assigned and in class discussions and lectures to express an understanding of a topic or topics involving the business of sports media. The final assignment will be a maximum of 750 words. The standards set out above for Periodic Written Assignments shall apply here as well.

Mid Term Exam. A Midterm exam shall be given between weeks 7 and 9. It will consist of a number of multiple choice, true\false, short answer and similar type questions and will cover material assigned and lectures given through the date of the exam.

Extra credit. Extra credit lectures or other extra credit opportunities may be available and will be posted and\ or discussed in class.

NOTE: You accumulate points over the course of the semester by completion of all of the above graded activities. Maximum points available equal 100 (plus any extra credit). If you miss any of the graded activities or fail to complete or submit them, the points associated with those activities are forfeited and as such, will impact your final grade.

Grading Course grades will be made according to the following grading scale:

Under the plus/minus grading system of the university, grades will be calculated using accumulated points from graded activities as follows: 100-93 accumulated points, A; 92.9-90, A-; 89.9-87, B+; 86.9-83, B; 82.9-80, B-; 79.9-77, C+; 76.9-73, C; 72.9-70, C-; 69.9-67, D+; 66.9-63, D; 62.9- 60, D-; 59.9-0, F.

.

Required Reading Materials

There will be a Coursepak that is available for this course. It contains mandatory readings. It will be available by 8\28\17 at the latest at Jenn’s on Dean Keeton and Guadalupe.

Students will also be expected to familiarize themselves with current relevant news and events regarding the business sports media as news breaks. As such, it is strongly recommended that students read and on an active basis. Further, The Sports Business Journal (SBJ) is a mandatory weekly read (starting in week 3) and is an invaluable source of current information. Details will be given about SBJ in class or in a posted Announcement in Canvas. WE will begin using SBJ in the second week of class so you must subscribe or have SBJ available before your second class. Articles and material of current interest to a topic being discussed in class will be assigned periodically throughout the semester.

Course Plan

Session 1 (August 31): Orientation to class/Review Syllabus; Introduction to the basics of the Business of Sports Media

• Review Assignments; Grading criteria and presentations as well as expectations • Review Coursepak and additional resource materials • Discussion of other relevant, current materials and their use in and relationship to the course; • Introduce Teaching Fellows Mark Pannes and Bryan Perez and discuss their involvement in the course • Introduce the beginnings of and key concepts in TV generally such as Retransmission Consent and to sports media • Ratings and Share; Importance

• A peak at how sports media dollars drive sports • Readings for session: Article posted to Files on Canvas entitled "The Revolution Will Not be Televised" from Sports Illustrated; Coursepak: Article 7 “Cable Carriage of Broadcast Stations”

Session 2 (September 7) Continuation of basics of Sports Med • Introduction to Over the Air (or Broadcast TV) Television and relationship to sports • The History of Sports Media • Other government\League rules such as Blackout policy • Continue basics of Over the Air and Cable TV • Readings for Session: Coursepak : Rushin Article 1, “There and Back “; Article 9, “Cable Carriage of Broadcast Stations”

Session 3 (September 14) Regional Sports Networks (RSN’s): Part 1 (Bryan Perez)

• Review the history of regional sports broadcasts • Discuss evolution of the business model from the POV of three parties – Teams, Networks and TV Distributors (both Over the Air and Cable/Satellite) • Discuss Astros/ Houston Rockets efforts with Comcast and challenges as example of team owned RSN’s and the pros and cons of startup and operation of same • Orioles\Nationals issue

RSN’s: Part 2 – the Rise of the Cable and Satellite Companies • Discuss Cable vs. Satellite competitive advantages/disadvantages • Los Angeles Lakers/Time Warner Cable transaction • Los Angeles Dodgers TV deal as new form of franchise valuation and resulting impact • Los Angeles Clippers deal as TV driven; valuation of sports teams and the media • At&T\Direct TV Merger. What does it mean to consumers and sports business? • Readings for this Session: TBD

Session 4 (September 21) Introduction to Cable and Satellite TV (With Mark Pannes)

• The origins of Cable and Satellite TV • Impact on the Business of Sports Media • The business models of cable and satellite TV operations • Readings for this session: TBD

Session 5 (September 28) Overview of the largest Sports Media companies; Rights Agreements; The Importance of sports TV content; Radio Discuss the proliferation of Rights Agreements • National Rights Agreements: The parties to these agreements • Packaging of Rights Agreements; out of market packaging • Major sports and Minor sports. Are all helped by rights deals? • Radio as a continued force in sports media • Readings for this session: Coursepak Article 2 “TV is King”; Article 10 from SBJ: Article 5 from Coursepak by Owens; Articles 6a-c from Coursepak

Session 6 (October 5): The curious case of the Longhorn Network Guest Speaker: Eric Sorenson

• Discuss the formation of LHN. • The LHN as a business from the standpoint of ESPN, the Consumer, The Cable Operator and UT: Who gets what? • Alternatives to the LHN. Was this good for either party? • Tiered Rights agreements • Readings for this session: Coursepak: Article 3, License Agreement between UT and ESPN and IMG

Session 7 (October 12): League and Conference Owned Sports Networks: Which is the best\correct model? Is there a correct model (Bryan Perez)

• Discussion of the launch and growth NFL Network, MLB Channel and the NBA Network • The NHL and MLBAM • Discussion of the business models of each and the pros and cons of same • Fallout from the LHN: College football restructure • The economics of college football and ESPN • The SEC Channel: Learning from and improvement upon LHN • Readings for this session: Coursepak: Articles 13 a-c by Eder, Sandomir and Miller.

Session 8 (October 19) Print Media (Speaker: Gene Menez, former College Football Editor at Sports Illustrated ; Michael MacCambridge, author of, among other works, “The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated”

• Magazines, newspapers and traditional print media. Is there a place for them? • Journalists by the millions • New niche magazines as a part of multi media offerings Readings for this session: Coursepak: MacCambridge, Articles 4 a, b excerpts.

(Week 8, second half of class, Midterm Exam)

Session 9 (October 26): National Networks, Niche Networks and new national networks • The Rise and Dominance of ESPN • Fox Sports 1…Can it challenge ESPN? • NBC Sports, CBS Sports and Turner Sports: Niche players or real competitors? • HBO and Showtime..Real competitors? • Yahoo Steaming NFL in 2015 • Readings for this session: Coursepak: Articles 14-16 by Sorkin, Dicken and Thompson

Session 10 (November 2) The Rise of Athlete Media (Mark Pannes)

Session 11 (November 9) ESPORTS as an Emerging Media Powerhouse? (Bryan Perez)

Session 12 (November 16): Global sports media: Not just an American model (Mark Pannes)

• Introduction to global sports media • Discussion of global media companies: Dominance of News Corp generally • The power of sports media: Al Jazeera America • The Olympics • Readings for this session: to be posted

Global Sports Media: Part 2 • The largest global media properties • League media deals: Collective vs individual club selling • Media and sports teams valuations: Premier league as case study • EU anti-trust rulings impact on nation by nation selling • Cross pollination of sports by region/culture and the role media plays • Readings for this session: to be posted

Session 13 (November 30: The Future of the Business of TV; The Impact on Sports Media Going “a la carte” with pay TV; the internet as an unbundler\ (With Mark Pannes and Bryan Perez

• If the bubble bursts, the impact on sports • The economics of pay TV • Comcast and its ambitions; failed deal with Time Warner • Readings for this session: Coursepak: Article 8 “The Sports Cable Bubble”, Sports on Earth website, Patrick Hruby; Article 9, Wertheim Article “As More Venues Cut Cable….”; Articles 12 and 13 by Sorkin and Dicken New distribution channels for sports programming • Review alternate distribution channels and potential conflicts with traditional media • Rise of mobile and its effect on TV viewership and the in-venue experience • Google, Netflix, Apple, You Tube and the challenge to TV • Netflix as case study • Readings for this session: Coursepak Article 15: Wolff book parts 5 and 6

Session 14 (December 7): Wrap-up and conclusions; Final Exam in class

• Review of material issues • Discussion of key terms in the business of sports media • Review key topics in sports media • Reading for this session: none (review prior readings)

There will be a Final take Home Question (see Assignments and Grading above)